Establishments that sell merchandise must make efficient use of the interior space of their store in order to maximize the amount of merchandise that can be displayed and thus, maximize sales. Efficient use of the space requires placing merchandise not only on the sales floor, but also utilizing the vertical space along the walls and columns of the sales floor.
It is known to adapt walls to hold display devices such as shelves, trays, and hooks by providing channels which extend horizontally across the wall. These channels generally have a narrow access slot extending through the surface of the wall leading to a larger, generally rectangular channel situated interior of the wall. The display devices or slatwall systems have an end adapted to extend through this access slot and into the channel to secure the device within the channel.
Existing slatwall systems employ wall surface materials with integrally formed horizontal channels. The wall surface is usually constructed of a thick, solid material, such as wallboard or plastic, with the slots and channels routered or molded into the material. These "built-in" channels are formed during the fabrication of the wall surface at the factory and then transported to the store for installation. This type of wall limits the ability of the store designer to choose and change the configuration of the channels within the wall. Furthermore, this type of slatwall is made of thick surface material, the thickness being necessitated by the depth of the channels. Additionally, this slatwall is also heavy due to the thickness of the wall material and can be difficult to handle and install. The need exists for a slatwall that is formed by channel members that are not formed integrally with the wall surface, but are formed and secured independently of the wall surface structure. A need also exists for an assembly for forming channels on a wall that is lightweight, easy to transport, easy to install, and adjustable such that the channels can be placed at any desired height, angle, or other configuration.